“Project Is Not Yet Sanctioned”: Railway Ministry On Kerala’s Silver Line Semi High Speed Rail

Silver Line Semi High Speed Rail project from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod in Kerala is not yet sanctioned, Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday. In an unstarred question by Kerala Member of Parliament Dr John Brittas, the minister has also said the Southern Railway has been advised to discuss various issues to the project with Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) and submit their comments to Ministry of Railways for further examination.

Silver Line Semi High Speed Rail project, famously known as Silver Line or K-Rail project, has been identified by the KRDCL, a Joint Venture company of State Government of Kerala (51%) and Ministry of Railways (49%) for development.

After survey, the ministry said the KRDCL has submitted Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Semi High Speed Rail Project to the Ministry of Railways for approval.

“Sufficient details for technical feasibility are not available in the DPR. Therefore, KRDCL has been advised to provide detailed technical documents such as alignment plan, details of land, crossings over existing railway network, etc. to further, examine the feasibility of project,” the ministry said.

According to the Kerala government’s proposal, the 529.45 km Silver Line corridor connecting Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram, with an operating speed of 200kmph, is expected to ease the transport between Kerala’s North and South ends of the state. The project is also expected to reduce the total travel time to less than 4 hours, compared with the present 10 to 12 hours. The project includes intermediate stations like Kollam, Chengannur, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Kochi Airport, Thrissur, Tirur, Kozhikode and Kannur.